God’s protection and love are on display powerfully in the seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)

The seventh commandment forbids adultery which is viewed biblically as the shattering of the marriage covenant between a husband and a wife through sexual relations with another outside the marriage. This commandment became the basis for the prohibition of a whole range of sexual sins expanded upon elsewhere in Leviticus and the New Testament: fornication, homosexuality, bestiality, etc.

The warning against adultery is second only to idolatry in the Old Testament, and second to none in the New Testament.  It was considered to be a treacherous sin, not only against another person, but against God, as expressed by King David’s cry in his post-adultery confession, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” (Psalm 51:4)

We are commanded to honor marriage (Hebrews 13:4), and adultery is an offense to the sacredness of that union. The fallout of unbridled adultery is everywhere.  Someone has quipped that in America every hour is “Sex O’Clock.” A perusal of the media reveals an epidemic of relationships birthed or ended because of adultery, and any type of accountability for this covenant shattering behavior is dismissed out-of-hand.

A national acceptance has settled like a dark cloud, and like the adulteress woman in Proverbs 30:20, “She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done no wrong.’”  However, the pain, the regrets, the shame, and the awkward dynamics brought to family life through adultery last a lifetime. From our neighborhoods to our nation, we hear regularly of the blow-outs that come to marriages because of marital unfaithfulness. (more…)

Several years ago Christianity Today  printed a cartoon which depicted two public school administrators watching a line of students pass through a metal detector.  “It’s the latest in school safety devices,” one of them explains. “That light and horn go off if a student tries to smuggle in a gun, a knife, a bomb or a copy of the Ten Commandments!”

Let’s be honest, the Ten Commandments are offensive to many and have created an irrational fear concerning their influence upon life in our culture.  However, that being said, there is almost universal agreement with the sixth commandment.  This commandment, which is only two words in the Hebrew text, translates into English as, “You shall not murder.”

Most people don’t need to be convinced that homicide is bad and that suicide is devastating.  I’m greatly encouraged that many in our country are beginning to see that it is difficult to avoid application of the sixth commandment with regard to abortion. (more…)

The fifth commandment brings with it an incredible promise, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12)

This commandment is heavy, literally. The Hebrew word translated “honor” means “weighty” or “heavy”.  The same word is used to describe God’s majesty elsewhere in the book of Exodus, (33:18).

To honor one’s parents is to give due weight to their position, and to understand it is by God’s design that parents are to train, nurture, protect, and provide for their children.

Additionally, by God’s design and plan, children are to give their parents the recognition and obedience under God-given authority.  Such obedience brings with it a promise of God’s blessing.

However, in a world where children are abused, exploited, and tortured, we might be tempted to write this commandment off as obsolete. (more…)

The fourth commandment brings us to God’s command for a Sabbath rest, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God.^.”

In recent years billionaire Bill Gates of Microsoft fame has stated that belief in God makes sense. He has also commented on why he didn’t go to church regularly, “Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There’s a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.”

This sentiment is shared by many others as church attendance has waned in developing countries of the world.  Some have attributed the decline to negative portrayals of religion in the media coupled with a boredom or a lack of connection with the worship services. (more…)